


End of Days (Nightmare)

by VixtheEvil



Series: The Crafting Dead Novelizations [3]
Category: Crafting Dead, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 03:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7250611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VixtheEvil/pseuds/VixtheEvil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In their search to scope out Red's hideout, Ghetto had fallen through the floor of a tall building, breaking his leg an being trapped in the level below. Nick promises to return with help and does that. After a quick supply run to gather items needed to tend to Ghetto, Nick and Shark return to the building Ghetto is in but instead of finding the peach loving Avatar... they run into trouble with a certain masked maniac.</p>
            </blockquote>





	End of Days (Nightmare)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Too many great moments in this series... god damnit, Barbierian I love this too much! Anyway, you guessed it! I'm coming at ya with another novelization piece of a video! This is just the *nightmare* portion of the video. It's not a ship fic either but if you like to think of it that way, that's fine. XD
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> *Note: I'm actually very nervous with this one because I felt that, no matter how times I watched the video or rewrote it, the novelization felt off in a sense. I'm not quite sure, perhaps from the lack of description about the surroundings or trying to capture the emotion and putting it into words correctly.
> 
> Anyway, if it sounds off or lacks a little bit a spark that my previous The Crafting Dead novelizations then I apologize in advance.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ghetto!" Nick practically yelled in the cramped little floor of the tall building he and Shark were currently in. _'Where the hell is he?!'_ He griped mentally, trying his best to not go into a full blown panic as he poked his head into an open room and did a quick look around. Then again, it was difficult not to do so when you're currently in the territory of a dangerous, Avatar eating psychopath, Red. He did not want himself or any of his people in this hell hole by the time the twisted fuck returned from wherever he was in the city.

"Ghetto! Are you in here?" he asked, hoping that perhaps his friend had crawled to a corner to hide and rest. The room was tiny and offered little to show where the missing Avatar was. Nick bit back a frustrated and fearful sound as he left the room, a feeling a dread was forming in the pit of his stomach.

 _'Where the fucking hell is Ghetto?!'_ It was a sealed floor! There was no other way out other than the hole in the ceiling the dark Avatar fell through in the first place. He had a broken leg and no escape, how in blazes did he just vanish?! He ran to the second closest room near him, hoping Ghetto was in there. He gestured to the room behind him, across the one he was heading into without so much as a glance to his partner. "Shark, check the other room."

Nick rushed into the larger room, instantly heading to the back of it to see if Ghetto had hidden himself behind some furniture furthest from the door. "Uh..." He looked around nervously, seeing nothing but empty space that he wished held his close friend. The sense of unease grew, winding around him tightly. The faster they found him, the faster they could patch him up and get the hell out. "He's not back here." he called out, letting Shark know of his lack of finding their missing member on his side of the floor. "Is he in the other room, Shark?"

Silence.

Nick turned toward the open doorway, confused at the lack of an answer and wondered what his partner was doing. "Shark?" he called, uncertain of what was going on. They didn't have time for this, they had to find Ghetto and leave before Red returned. 

Again, there was no reply. The terrible feeling wound tighter in his chest as he moved cautiously toward the entrance. "Is he in there?" Dread turned to horror and squeezed tightly as the brunet stepped to the doorway, eyes going wide at seeing, not Shark, but the one person he both hated and feared; holding him at gun point with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Oh god..."

"Well, well, well..." Red smiled a little in satisfaction as Nick went absolutely still when he leveled magnum at his chest. _'Aww, he looks cute with his dark eyes all wide and scared.'_ He was going to enjoy this oh so much."Look who it is!" he exclaimed brightly as if he bumped into an old friend, again taking satisfaction when the shorter Avatar tensed as the weapon moved a little in his hands.

"It's you." Nick hissed in displeasure and disgust as the other continued to beam at him happily. He released a breath that he didn't even know he held when Red lowered the weapon, an expression of mock sadness on his face.

"Aw, you don't look so excited to see me." Red replied in a false hurt tone that thinly masked his enjoyment of the situation.

Nick growled in warning, he wasn't in the mood for maniac's mind games and twisted sense of humor. He didn't want to be within the same space as the freak, let alone breathe the same air. "What did you do to Ghetto?" he snapped, "Where did you put Shark?"

Red made a noise of disappointment as he calmly raised the gun again when the Avatar became aggressive. _'That's so adorable, trying to be brave. Ah, this is going to be fun.'_ "Well before we carry on with this conversation, I would love if you would put your weapons down." He advised pleasantly, then pulled the hammer back on the gun, "It really makes me _**anxious**._ "

It was a warning. While delivered in a light and non-threatening tone, the message was very clear to anyone that knew him.

He would kill without a second thought.

"All right, all right." Nick complied, tossing his fire axe off to the side and at a small distance from him as he lifted his hands in surrender. He was not taking the risk of being shot like a dog. "Relax." he muttered, "Show me where they are. We don't want any trouble."

"Well see... I'm _**not**_ going to tell you where they are." the lunatic answered back, his tone ever pleasant as he approached Nick casually; the gun still trained on his captive, "Because they're in a different place."

Nick bristled angrily, "What does that mean?!" he snapped, interrupting the masked Avatar when he opened his mouth to speak, "What did you do with them?"

Red clamped his mouth shut, giving the Avatar a disapproving stare over the interruption before it was switched another hurtful look. He bent low at the waist, looking up at the brunet in an almost childish way as he switched the gun for a small red can. Nick barely glanced at it, it wasn't a weapon so maybe a can of soda? "Aw, you keep on interrupting me," Red whined a little as he edged closer, "and I'm really thirsty, okay?"

 _'What the hell is he talking about?'_ Nick shifted back, cocking his head to the side in confusion of his whining. What does him being thirsty have anything to do this anyway? Ugh, this was why the brunet hated him, all that ever came out of his mouth was twisted shit that made no sense whatsoever. "Thirsty? What do you mean thir-"

He didn't finish as Red moved swiftly, bringing up the red can – which Nick recognized as it being a spray can rather than a soda can – and spritzed a small amount of mist into his face. The maniac had jumped backwards to avoid the thin cloud as Nick sputtered and coughed, backpedaling from both it and the crazed cannibal.

Whatever it was packed a punch as it quickly assaulted his senses from all directions. "Wh-whoa..." The effects overwhelmed him, the world around him tilted and warped, his vision doubling and blurring from it. "Ohhh..." he groaned thickly, his stomach protested as a wave of nausea swept through, making him sick. He pressed a hand to his face as his head swam, making it hard to focus as he glared at Red, managing to only give him a sleepy stare.

"What did... you do to me..?" His growl coming out as a weak slur as Nick stumbled backwards, his free hand groping the air behind him as he tried to find some sort of solid support. His hand grasped at a chair; only for it topple over when his weight pressed against it incorrectly and sent him reeling further back unsteadily on his feet. He couldn't afford to pass out now, not in front of Red; there was no telling what would happen if he did. _'No... I can't... f-fall asleep... gotta stay... stay awake...'_

Red observed from a short distance away, waiting patiently for the effects to overcome his favorite captive. Then watched in sick satisfaction as the glimmer in the brunet's eyes flickered then dulled as the effects finally won out. Nick moaned weakly before toppling over into a crumpled heap at Red's boots when he had strolled over check.

The cannibal smirked, admiring the little can and giving it a quick peck, "Ha, I love this thing!" he laughed, then gazed victoriously over his fallen victim. Goddamn did he look good enough to eat right now and he would dig right in if he wanted to... but it wouldn't be as fun now would it? He chuckled and with the toe of his boot, gently nudged the chin so that Nick's face peered up at him.

"You're going to be so much fun to break."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

With a groan, Nick blinked slowly, letting his senses back a little at a time as he emerged from his unconscious state. As he sat in place and waited for the world to come into focus, confusion took place. Where was he? The surroundings weren't familiar to him but his mind moved at a sluggish pace, trying its best despite the grogginess to work properly. He caught a flicker of movement and Nick turned to look hazily at the Avatar that approached him.

"Ah, morning." a familiar voice greeted him, tone soft and pleasing to the ear. For some reason, it set Nick's teeth on edge in annoyance at hearing it but still couldn't quite place a face to it. His vision had finally focused to see the world clearly but his mind was still lethargic in terms of remembering, even as the Avatar in question knelt down near him. "Morning sleeping beauty." the Avatar teased, again a flare of annoyance stirred in Nick's groggy mind. "How you doing?"

 _'How do you think I'm doing?'_ Nick griped mentally as the fog lifted a little to give him some coherent thought. Probably wouldn't be wise to be snarky at this state. "What happened?" he asked, not liking how weak he sounded. In fact he felt pretty uncomfortable, his muscles felt stiff and cold from him sitting and leaning against a stone surface. Where the hell was he? He shifted a little get the blood flowing then froze, alarm sweeping aside more of the thick fog.

He couldn't move.

"Why can't I move?!" Nick yelped, struggling a little to his feet and discovering that his arms were fastened behind his back by handcuffs. His muscles protested at the sudden movement but ignored it in favor of staring at the familiar masked Avatar that stood and grinned sharply at him.

Then it clicked.

Red.

Nick jerked back from the cannibal, pressing himself against the wall as Red clicked his tongue at the action. "Don't... don't... Don't move. Don't move." he said smoothly. "It's just going to make it harder." The tone was soft and cautious as if concerned for his well being, but Nick knew very well what he meant by that. Red glanced away toward some other part of the building, calm and at ease in knowing his captive posed no threat to him at all. He didn't flicker a lash as Nick scurried away from him. "I'm actually cooking something up in the kitchen right now if you're a little hungry."

The Avatar's stomach churned at the offer, making him sick. "No, get away from me." Nick hissed, despising the fact he still felt hazy and weak from the gas' effects. He backed away quickly and hid behind a support pillar, trying to put as much distance between himself and the maniac he was trapped with.

Red let out a bemused chuckle, stalking forward slowly, bat in hand and enjoying every second of terrorizing his captive. "Oh no, that's not gonna happen." He giggled in reply, amused as Nick darted around him, making a beeline to the glass doors. Not that he had to worry, the gas Red had used on Nick was designed keep Avatars partly lethargic at best, robbing them the ability to fight back. They could protest and resist all they wished but ultimately they couldn't get help nor help themselves. It was a perfect little tool for his sense of fun and games.

Nick moved as fast as his leaden heavy body would allow him, alarmed that it felt like he was wading in deep water. "Let me out..." His voice came out as a mere thread of sound, then cried out as something struck him firmly across the back. The attack sending him stumbling forward and crashing into the thick glass hard, cracking his head against them. He whimpered, slumping a little against the doors and trembled in pain.

"No..." Red sighed, sounding disappointed but actually enjoying himself immensely at the haplessness Nick displayed. He hid a grin as he watched the trapped Avatar go stiff at hearing him approach and looked over his shoulder at him, fear bright in his eyes. "See now you're trying to run away..." The lunatic watched as Nick threw himself against the doors, trying to force his way out. Red clicked his tongue, smiling at the weak cry of 'Help!' his victim managed to squeak out. "This is not gonna... This is not gonna work." he sighed, slipping in front of the Avatar and held him at bay.

Nick ignored him, trying to push past him to reach the doors. "This is just not gonna work... You're gonna have to back up." Red warned him, seconds before whipping Nick several times with a rusty pipe, earning yelps of shock and pain before the Avatar escaped the blows. "You're not going anywhere."

Stumbling backwards, Nick breathed raggedly, gritting his teeth as pain coursed through him before glaring at at his kidnapper. "What do you want?" His body trembled, trying to cope with the pain that left him even weaker than before. _'This is bad, if I don't get out of here soon...'_ He didn't want to think about what would happen. Granted he already knew the ultimate outcome of being served on this twisted bastard's dinner plate.

The cannibal grinned at the question, casually moving closer and bent toward Nick's face. "I just... I just want the city and food. And by food, I mean people." He let out a short laugh and sighed contently, his smile turning slightly insane then shrugged, "Y'know?" He made the answer so simple, so... innocent in a dark way. Like that was truly all he wanted, no more, no less. Pure and simple. But Nick had feeling that was not what he truly wanted. No, he _knew_ that it wasn't that simple. The Avatar knew that what the other wanted was to conquer and torture his victims; denying them swift death as he kept them alive to remove pieces of their bodies for his meals.

It made his stomach churn at the idea.

"You're a sick freak!" Nick spat angrily as he backed away yet again, hunching his shoulders and going tense as he shifted into a defensive stance. He kept a certain distance from the madman as he glanced around wildly. There had to be an escape or something to remove the cuffs that tied his wrists. Anything to get him out of this situation and preferably kill the lunatic that was stalking him. He hissed at him, noticing that he tried to approach him silently. "Get away from me!"

"That's exactly what _**Ghetto**_ said."

Nick froze.

"You know, your _friend_?"

 _'Ghetto?'_ That's right, he was captured too. This whole time he forgot about him... the entire time Red had taunted and beaten him. Nick had completely forgot about his two friends that had also been kidnapped. Fear gripped him and also regret flashed through him at the notion that he had been looking out for himself and disregarded them. No, no... he couldn't think like that, that's what Red wants. He panicked and worried about his own safety because if he had been rash, then no one would rescue them had he died.

Still... The twinge of shame remained that he had forgotten about them.

"Where is Ghetto?" Nick growled, glaring at the cannibal as he saw the delighted look on his face, "What did you do with him?"

Red hummed, tilting his head as he considered the questions. "Well... well let's see... Actually..." he mused aloud before snapping his fingers as if an idea popped into his head. "Let's go up and join your friend, Ghetto. You're probably wondering where he is and how he's doing!" he remarked brightly, "Wanna go see him?"

Nick continued to glare at Red, distrustful of the offer. "Where is he?" he repeated, suspicion and caution coloring his tone. "What did you do with him?"

The crazed Avatar gestured to the only set of stairs in the entire space of the room. "Ah, just follow me up this staircase and we'll go visit your friend!" he said cheerfully as if he was addressing to small school children on their way to a field trip. He went up a few steps and turned to see if the other followed, "Are you ready? Come with me."

Warning bells rang in Nick's head and suspicion gave way to hostility as he backed up again, hiding behind a pillar. "I'm not following you anywhere." he growled angrily, "Leave me alone." Who in their right mind would follow this demented freak anywhere? Let alone a set of stairs? The chances of Ghetto truly being up those stairs were slim to none.

"Aww... what?" Red whined a little before smirking darkly at the Avatar that pressed himself against the wall to keep as much of the room between them. "So you **don't** want to see your friend?"

"No. Just... Just..." Nick circled around him, searching for anything that could help him escape.

Red giggled at the attempts and from the rejection of his offer, "You don't want to see your friend?"

"Let me out."

"Okay," He giggled as he moved to follow Nick about the room, taking pleasure as his captive's helplessness and fear. " _That's_ not how this works..." Red said stiffly, voice pleasant but strained, a spark of annoyance showing. "Its either you follow me upstairs and we go see your friend," He followed Nick to the doors, bent at the waist a little and put his arms behind his back like a curious child. But no one saw how tightly he gripped the pipe, a clear indication that he was displeased at being defied yet again and his pleasant attitude waning. He grinned coldly at Nick, "Or I just continue to torture you in this... you know, fine establishment. So what do you want?"

Nick didn't answer him, shoulder slamming the glass in hopes of breaking through. He hissed and muttered in pain as he continue to throw his body against the doors. He had to get out... he had to escape, anything but near the maniac behind him.

Red's dark blue eyes flashed in brief anger as he was ignored. This was beginning to bore him and he was going to punish the fool for spoiling his mood. _'Nick... you're not playing very fair...'_ He sighed in aggravation, "Alright well... See **now** you're just making this a little more difficult than it really needs to be."

_Click!_

Nick froze at the sound. _'That's not a good sign...'_ he thought numbly to himself as he turned slowly to face Red. His dark eyes going wide at the sight of the magnum trained, not at his chest, but at his head. He gulped. _'Yeah, I'm pretty screwed.'_

Red gave him a lidded glare. "So if you don't get up these stairs _right_ _ **now,**_ I'm gonna put a bullet right between your eyes." he said tightly, "So make up your mind."

Nick's gaze flickered over to the glass doors again-

**BANG!**

The brunet shrieked in shock as he instinctively duck down and to the side as the bullet shot well away from his head, the sound catching him off guard more than the action did. Concrete chips and dust flew as the round buried itself into the wall a few inches from where he last stood. He winced as the loud sound of the gunshot echoed in the cramped room, ringing in his ears and making his head hurt. Then he stared at the hole in the wall with huge eyes before looking over at Red and jolted a little when he saw the gun trained at his face. Red's eyes gleamed angrily behind the weapon.

He didn't have a choice.

"Alright... alright..." Nick whispered softly, making a move to lift his hands in surrender but remembered that he was cuffed, "Let's go..." He walked slowly, almost like that of a kicked puppy as Red smiled but the lidded glare remained. "These stairs?" Nick asked nervously, stepping onto them first then paled at the realization that the cannibal was now behind him.

"These stairs right here." Red agreed, sounding happier now. "Now just calmly walk up the stairs. Any sudden movements," he warned cheerfully into Nick's ear, "and you'll have a bullet right in the back. So... its up to you really."

He grinned icily as Nick moved obediently up the stairway.

It didn't take long for his adrenaline rush to die down, surprisingly the gas was still in effect and the brunet suddenly felt drained and lethargic once more. Just how long did the gas last? Was it even the gas? "Is Ghetto here?" Nick asked, moving slowly and carefully up steps, wary of what could lay in wait but didn't want to risk being shot in the back for lingering too long. "What did you-?"

"He's waiting for us at the top... he's waiting for us at the top." The masked Avatar replied with an amused smile, motioning with his hand to shoo him up the stairs. "Just go, move.. Move along."

"Ghetto?" Nick called weakly, brows furrowed in confusion. Why was he so tired? Was it from the beating he had earlier? Or was it the adrenaline crash? Or a mix of them all? "Ghetto!"

"I still eat my human with bullets in it, so it doesn't really matter to me." Red piped up for no reason, other than fill the silence and drown out Nick's worried calls. Also a warning to his captive to pick up the pace. "So..."

"Just stay away from me." Nick muttered tiredly, moving as quick as possible. He climbed a few more flights of stairs and frowned. "What is this place?" he asked, confused as to why there were so many steps to begin with. "Where are we?"

"Oh just, you know, in my part of the city." Red answered nonchalantly, shrugging as they continued up the steps. He did seem pleased to have some type of conversation. "No biggie. Keep on moving."

"Ghetto!" Nick called again, getting nervous the longer he went without an answer from his friend. "Where is he?" he whispered to himself, worried. "Ghetto!"

"Don't you just love stairs?" the maniac asked happily, giggling to himself, "They're just so great!"

"Ghetto!"

"You know, honestly you look so tasty right now. Its... its..." Red complimented in a babble of words, before exhaling to calm himself down from his excitement.

That sent Nick speeding up the rest of the stairs with wide eyes, appalled at the confession and not wanting to think about the idea that he was being checked out from behind by a lunatic of all people. _'I didn't need to hear that!'_ But the thought was dropped as he finally made it to the top floor and spied the dark Avatar. "Ghetto!" Nick cried out in relief, moving quickly to look him over.

The happy cry snapped Ghetto out of his reverie, turning in place in surprise to see his friend. He brightened at first then went somber as he noticed Nick was cuffed and Red emerged as well. "Oh wow... Okay..." he murmured in a disheartened tone, "I see what's going on here."

Red chuckled lightly as the two Avatars stood next to each other and glanced at him nervously. "Don't you just miss each other?"

Nick took the fact Red didn't move as a cue to assess his friend's condition. "Ghetto, are you okay?" It was a stupid but one he had to ask, "What happened?" Ghetto leaned heavily on one leg, the other favored as it lightly pressed against the floor at times to keep his balance. Nick winced, _'That's right, his leg's broken.'_ The dark Avatar looked worse for wear, clothes torn and a little bloody here and there, no doubt he had his fair share of 'play time' with Red. Nick bristled in anger at the torture Ghetto suffered while he was out cold.

"Do I look okay?" the other Avatar replied softly, tired. Obviously, he didn't want to talk about it. He gave Nick a quick glance, "You don't look okay either..."

"Alright well, that's enough loving. That's enough loving." Red interrupted, swinging a baseball bat between the two, forcing them to separate a little to avoid the hit. Though Ghetto didn't quite move fast enough, suffering a glancing blow. Nick bristled, making a move to aid when their captor reacted quickly, pressing the melee weapon against his throat. "I want you in that corner over there," He gestured to the corner away from Ghetto. Nick glanced at it briefly. Red then turned his attention to the dark Avatar, "And you stand right here, Ghetto. You stay right here."

Ghetto silently obeyed, stepping back to his indicated spot with a glare to the floor.

Nick didn't move.

 _'Just exactly how hard is it for him to follow simple instructions?'_ Red sighed in irritation, swapping the pipe for his magnum once more. "Okay, okay... You're _not_ moving. I'm gonna give you the offer again." He pinned Nick with another lidded glare, "If you don't **move,** I'm gonna put a bullet right between your eyes. I'm giving you the choice."

"Just go." Ghetto urged, gesturing him to listen. As much as they both wanted to beat the crap out of the bastard in front of them, they had to obey if they wanted to last longer than five minutes. "Just go..."

"Alright... Alright..." Nick backed away quickly to his corner, if only at his partner's request. He sent the cannibal a glare, despising his smug look.

"Alright, so now that you did that... I'm going to go ahead and teach Ghetto a lesson for, you know... being ghetto." Red grinned darkly before turning and swinging the bat sharply at the dark Avatar; cracking it against his ribs, beating him repeatedly. Ghetto screamed and yelled in pain, curling up on himself in meager defense as the bat rained blows all over his body.

"No! No!" Nick cried as he raced forward, heart in his throat as their captor continued to slam the wooden weapon on the huddled form in front him. He inserted himself between the two, using his own body as a barricade to protect Ghetto from further harm. "Stop!"

Red laughed musically, taking pleasure in the harm he was doing as twirled the bat in his hand, "Oh, you don't like that, do you?"

Nick growled, "What are you doing this for?" How could anyone take this much enjoyment in not only hurting others but torturing them?

Ghetto's eyes flickered between the two then realized the meaning of his earlier beating. The twisted Avatar had used him to goad Nick into reacting in anger. "Get back in the corner! Don't you see what he's doing!?" he yelled, watching in horror as the Avatar exchanged the bat for the rusted pipe. "Get back in the goddamn corner!"

Nick jolted, misunderstanding the warning and turned to look back at his corner, thinking danger was there. It was all Red needed; his smile vicious as he lashed out with the pipe, striking hard at Nick, who looked back in time to twist his body to a defensive stance in reflex. The sharp jagged edges of the pipe bit and ripped open a gash along his upper arm, blood flowing heavily from wound.

With a sharp cry of pain, he reeled backwards, nearly stumbling over his own feet in his effort to escape further attack. Nick hissed as pain radiated from him, trembling as the muscles in his injured arm spasmed and twitched from shock. _'F-fuck..!'_ He breathed raggedly, closing his eyes for a few seconds as he tried to breathe through the worst of it then glared at Red.

"Look, now you're bleeding!" Ghetto snapped angrily, his fear coloring the edges of his tone.

"I'm actually just doing this for my pure enjoyment." Red chuckled, swapping his current weapon for his favorite gun, the magnum. "This is actually quite fun."

Outside the walls of windows, the bright sky suddenly darkened from the oncoming storm that rolled over the city. Dark clouds churned and boiled, gathering strength as thunder rumbled its warning of its danger to anyone that took heed of its growl. Red chuckled again as he looked at the storm brewing outside the wall of windows that made up the most of the top floor of the observation deck, delighting in the change. "Don't you just love it when the weather matches the mood? This is just great!" Both captives looked around in surprise at the change of weather, and both having a sinking feeling it was pointing out a dark moment that was soon coming to pass.

"Well Nick," Red mused, pulling the Avatar's attention to him, "I'm assuming you didn't see this coming but ah..." He turned and fired his gun, the loud crack echoing in time with the thunder and shattered a window next to Ghetto, causing him to cry out in surprise. Nick jumped, heart skipping a beat for a second at the fear of his friend being shot. The masked Avatar giggled as he turned back to leer at him, reloading his weapon. "See? Just kidding."

The brunet shook his head slowly, seeing the bright gleam in Red's eye, seeing his intent. "Stop... you don't have to do this..." he whispered, ignoring the Avatar's smug look. He felt a little light headed as blood continued to flow unopposed down his arm. "Listen, we got supplies, we got people..." Nick fumbled for any excuse to prevent what was going to happen. His eyes going wide as the maniac lost interest in him and turning to give Ghetto a dangerous smile. "We can give you tons of stuff... You don't have-"

**BANG!**

Ghetto screamed, staggering to the side as a blossom of red appeared on his right shoulder.

"No! Stop!" Nick yelled, scrambling in terror to reach his partner. Red laughed as he followed the injured Avatar, gun still trained on him and pushed Nick away easily; sliding to one side then the other to block his rescue attempts.

"This is just too easy! It's just too easy really."

"No, don't..!" Nick begged then shrieked as Red pulled the trigger again, _"No!"_

Ghetto howled, thrown back by the force of the gunshot until he sagged against the glass wall, a flow of dark red appearing on his chest. Nick shrieked again as he tried dart around, "NO! STOP!"

Red fired repeatedly into him, grinned wildly as the dark Avatar's body bucked and jerked with each shot, reveling at the blood spraying. Ghetto begged shamelessly for him to stop when the masked Avatar paused to reload the weapon; vision doubling as he went into shock from the trauma. He slumped against the glass, hyperventilating from overwhelming agony and his gaze hazy.

 _"STOP! DON'T!"_ Nick was tears now, rushing over again to be a shield, only to be pistol whipped aside, a small gash forming on his cheek.

Red crowed insanely, dark blue eyes almost glowing with madness as he lifted the magnum once more, taking aim at his victim. Ghetto froze, petrified as he stared at the barrel of the gun. He wouldn't be able to move his weakened body in time, it just refused to listen out of sheer terror and numb from blood loss. Thunder roared in approval and impatience as if demanding that the deed be done, starved for death. Lightning lancing and dancing across the sky, flashing once and illuminated the twisted and deranged shark-like smile that stretched across Red's face.

_"NO!"_

**BANG!**

The Avatar's head pitched back, hurtled backwards until he smashed through the wall of windows. Glass exploded from the force of impact, flying and raining down like a shower of glitter. Thunder roared again in blessing as lightning lashed the dark sky once more. And Ghetto laid in a crumpled heap, surrounded in glass and so very very still...

 ** _"_** _ **GHETTO!"**_ Nick screamed in anguish, hurling himself at the dark avatar to look him over, uncaring of the glass that cut and bit at his knees.  _'NO! No no no! Don't do this to me! Ghetto.. Ghetto! Please!'_ Dark eyes searched wildly for a flicker of life, anything to tell him something but the avatar remained silent and still as a dark pool spread from beneath his body. Heavy rain fell, stung the gash on his arm, soaking both Avatars thoroughly and matched the sorrowful mood perfectly as the light in Ghetto's eyes faded.

"Whew... Alright!" Red calmed to a chuckle and sighed contently, the bat in hand, "I liked that... That was fun."

Nick snarled as he struggled to his feet, blinking back tears that fell. **"** **You MONSTER!"** he bellowed in fury, dashing forward in a wild charge, _"Let me_ _ **OUT**_ _of these cuffs!"_

The blind rush did nothing to help, only served into having him run straight into the counter Red used, cracking the bat against his injured arm. Pain streaked through with enough shock to cause Nick's vision to go dark for a brief second before it returned with stars dancing along the edges. At the same moment he cried out from the blow; staggering into the railing before shaking his head clear and glared in pent up rage at the murderer.

Red chuckled and waved him aside, unfazed by his rush. Instead, he gestured with the bat to the sky around them. "Please, please..." he chuckled as if he just didn't murder someone in cold blood, "Enjoy the rain! Enjoy the scenery!" He casually moved out from the protection of the tower, instantly soaked in the downpour and threw his arms out to encompass the city in a grand gesture. "Look at this!" he giggled, showing off the city as the storm sat above it like a fat beast. "Look at this. This is great!"

Nick stared at him, rage and sorrow warred within him but he shook his head, shocked at the clear lack of remorse as Red continued to smile at him. He backed away, not wanting to give him the idea of shoving him over the railing. "No..." Rage fell under sorrow and sorrow combined with the nauseating sickness that turned his stomach. Red still smiled at him, no remorse for his actions, no worry in the world. Just perfectly at peace with his decisions. He had to get out there.

The brunet bolted for the stairs, panic gripping him tightly. "You're SICK, Red!" he yelled as he hurried down the spiraling steps. Red's musical laugh drifted behind him, low and dark.

"Run. Run while you can~!" the maniacal Avatar called in a sing-song voice; the tone scraping down the brunet's spine.

As he hurried down, Nick finally allowed his sorrow for his friend's death to crash down on him. Tears welled and fell from his face. "Ghetto..." Phantom cries echoed in his head as well as images of seeing him jerk under fire and crumple to a heap. The horrified expression frozen on his face. "No..." he sobbed, "I gotta get out of here."

"I'ma coming~!" Red sang eerily, eagerly following him down at a brisk pace for the simple joy of the chase, "I'ma coming for you~!"

The hairs on the back of Nick's neck stood on end at the chilling tone, urging him to go faster. He hissed a few times as he stumbled into walls, pressing and brushing the gash along the stone. It left thick streaks of blood on them, reminding him that he was loosing blood quickly. The light headed feeling returned, causing him to falter a little in his running before he shook himself alert. _'Come on don't pass out now!'_ "Gotta find Shark..." he reminded himself that there was one more friend in trouble. He failed Ghetto, he was NOT going to fail Shark, wherever he was.

"I'm gonna make you into good ole fucking chicken nuggets!" Red giggled, "Let's go!"

He had to go faster, had to leave! Blood ran down Nick's arm, making him feel dizzy. ' _No! Don't... don't pass out! Just hang on, almost there!'_ Red's laughter echoed behind him, teasing and taunting. The predator was enjoying the chase... the hunt... and he's very close in pouncing the prey.

"Let me out..." Nick whispered fearfully, scrambling down the last of the stairs before jumping to the floor closest to the glass doors.

"You can't run!" Red taunted, "You can't run, Nick!"

The brunet bolted over and threw his shoulder bodily against the glass. The thick glass refused to budge, he shoulder slammed it several more times and the glass again denied him freedom. "Someone help! Help!" He shouted, hoping someone nearby would hear him, that the barrage of gunshots earlier would've brought someone close to at least check the observation deck. "Help!"

Laughter.

A chill ran down his spine and against his better judgment, Nick twisted a little to look over his shoulder. He wished he hadn't it.

The exact same demented expression that saw to Ghetto's demise, leered right back at him.

"NO!"

_THWAK!_

Nick cried out sharply as the bat met his temple harshly, the blow hard enough to force him into a half twist and sent him sprawling to the floor. Another cry and another explosion of stars flashed across his eyes as he partly realized he landed on his injured arm. And just like that his body gave up, too injured, too much blood loss... too weak to resist any longer. It was pointless, the body lacked strength to fight, lacked the will. Tears formed and fell again, sliding down his face at the thought of his failure to escape as his consciousness faded in and out. He was going to die, wasn't he? He put up a fight but in the end, Red had won and no one else would ever know the truth of him; and so many more Avatars would fall victim...

All because he failed.

The thought broke him and he sobbed as he drifted in and out consciousness, uncaring that Red peered down at him with a wide smile. How many more people will die? How many more would suffer like Ghetto?

"Shhh..." Red whispered, kneeling down next to him and soothing his hair gently, "Just go to sleep... Just go back to sleep..."

"Ghetto..." Nick moaned pitifully, sobbing softly. He failed him. Ghetto had counted on him to rescue him when he broke his leg and the brunet failed. And because of his lack of judgment, he had gotten not only himself but Shark captured as well. And now neither of them will leave alive. Nick hiccuped. _'I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I failed all of you...'_ "Ghetto..."

Consciousness slipped away from him, Red's maniacal laughter being the last thing he heard as he finally faded into the black....


End file.
